Lectured in Iraq, touched lives in Nigeria… five things to know about Briton killed in Kajuru

On Friday, while Faye Mooney was holidaying alongside Mathew Oguche, her colleague, at the Kajuru resort in Kaduna state, suspected bandits opened fire on the facility, killing the duo and kidnapping four others.

A witness told TheCable Mooney and Oguche were killed while trying to take cover. The incident has left many heartbroken, including family and friends of the deceased. In this piece, we look at five things about her:

AID WORKER:

The deceased was a staff of Mercy Corps, a humanitarian organisation, where she had been for almost two years. As far back as 2010, she also worked with Amnesty International as an accountability assistant.

SCHOOLED IN LONDON

According to a statement from Mercy Corps, Mooney finished from the University College of London from where she proceeded to the London School of Economics.

LECTURED IN IRAQ:

Mooney worked at the University of Soran, Kurdistan in Iran, where she taught English in 2014, and later, at International Business College, Mitrovica, as a lecturer and communications manager.

JOURNALIST

The late Briton also worked as the co-editor of Womens Views on News, an online platform that chronicles “women’s news, opinions and current affairs” to “redress the gender imbalance in global news reporting by telling the stories that the mainstream press ignores, while at the same time encouraging more feminist writers to become news reporters and editors.”

ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING ACTIVIST

For two months, from November to December, 2016, she served as a consultant for the National Strategy Against Human Trafficking at the Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, in Kosovo, .

SHOCK, LAMENTATIONS

Grieving over her loss, her family said she was an inspiration to everyone including her students and work colleagues.

Guardian UK quoted a family source as saying: “Her bravery and her belief in a better society took her to places others feared. Faye did what she wanted; nothing held her back. Permanently against the grain, Faye was unconventional to the core. Her family and friends are so proud of who she was and of everything she achieved in her short but purposeful life. Her memory will always be cherished.”

Mercy Corps also described her as “a dedicated and passionate” official who had been with them for almost two years.

A statement from the organisation noted she devoted her time to “making a difference in Nigeria, supporting our teams and the communities we work with to tell their stories of impact, and leading efforts to counter hate speech and violence.”

The British high commission also mourned her loss and offered its “most profound sympathies and condolences to the families and friends at this difficult time.”

Some of her former colleagues as well as acquaintances also took to Twitter to mourn the late Briton:

Faye's friends and family in Manchester will struggle to understand why someone so committed to making a difference in the world should die in such a senseless way.This is so sad.

This is indeed a sad news to us, this is really a great lost, I am saddened that such a great, energetic and friendly lady was killed. May her gentle soul rest in peace and may the wicked ppl never get rest. Ooo Faye Is gone. Saddened Mood pic.twitter.com/h2e6UDOv9s

Always awful to hear of people who dedicate themselves to improving the lives of others having theirs violently taken away. I understand that Faye was a @ucl graduate which makes this a terrible loss that all here will share in some way.

This is so sad. The level of vulnerability keeps increasing.. It is always disheartening to hear that someone committed to betterment of humanity, good well-being died in the course. #NotATarget#RIP God bless her family and @mercycorps

RIP #FayeMooney. Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated. Your courage and desire to help the corners of the world with the most severe suffering makes you a hero. Tragic cos these terrorists are hurting the very brave souls who love the people & are there to help.

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